One of the greatest hazards of the sea is the loss of crew and passengers overboard and as greater numbers of relatively inexperienced crewmen and single handers undertake extended voyages, the number of a crew and passengers lost overboard increases.
In smaller cruising vessels limitations of size and accommodations entail the utilization of one man watches and if the man on watch is lost overboard, under present conditions, there is a little, if any, hope of rescue. Similar situations occur on larger commercial vessels because of the reduction of crew attributable to automation and the corresponding reduction in the number of watch personnel. Of course, single handers are very vulnerable to the dangers of going overboard.
Conventional lifesaving apparatus require the presence on deck of an individual who will throw the lifesaving apparatus from the vessel to the individual who has fallen overboard. If there is no one on deck, in most cases the individual who has fallen overboard is lost despite the fact that he may be wearing floatation gear, such as a floatation jacket.
Such loss is attributable to the fact that, once an individual falls overboard and a vessel moves out of range, he becomes an infinitesimal speck on the massive surface of the sea. Without some ancillary means of locating and identifying the man overboard, it is almost impossible to locate and rescue him.